Mara Ahmed is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker based on Long Island, New York. Her production company is Neelum Films.[1]
Mara Ahmed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Lahore, Pakistan |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker |
| Known for | Neelum Films |
| Notable work | The Muslims I Know, Pakistan One on One, A Thin Wall, The Injured Body |
Early life and education
editMara Ahmed was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She has lived and been educated in Belgium, Pakistan and the United States. She has an MBA and a second master's degree in Economics. She worked in corporate finance before launching her career in film.[2]
Film career
editAhmed's film training began at the Visual Studies Workshop and later continued at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She began to shoot her first documentary, The Muslims I Know, a response to the post-9/11 negative stereotyping of Muslims in mainstream media in 2006. The Muslims I Know premiered at the Dryden Theatre in 2008.
Ahmed's second film, Pakistan One on One, a survey of public opinion in Pakistan about issues of interest to Americans, premiered in 2011 at the Little Theatre. Both her films were broadcast on PBS.
A Thin Wall, Ahmed's third documentary, was released in 2015. It focused on personal stories from the Partition of India in 1947 and was shot on both sides of the border, in India and Pakistan.[3] The film was written and directed by Ahmed and co-produced by Indian filmmaker Surbhi Dewan.[4][5]
A Thin Wall opened at the Bradford Literature Festival and was introduced by British poet John Siddique, whose work is featured in the film.
Ahmed was interviewed about A Thin Wall on Voice of America[6] and RCTV.[7]
She gave a Ted talk about the meaning of borders and nationalism, entitled The Edges that Blur, in 2017.[8]
That same year, Ahmed began work on a new documentary inspired by Claudia Rankine's book, Citizen: An American Lyric. The Injured Body: A Film about Racism in America will focus on micro-aggressions via interviews with a diverse group of women of color.[9]
In 2023, Ahmed was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts grant, through the Community Regrant Program administered by the Huntington Arts Council, for her art and film project Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation.[10] Ahmed's films can be found on Vimeo on Demand.[11]
Art exhibitions
editMara Ahmed works in a variety of media including film, photography, collage and writing. Her work was featured in the 2005 documentary “Identity Through Art” along with five other Asian-American artists.[12]
Her artwork was exhibited at the Kinetic Gallery, at SUNY Geneseo, in 2008. “Synthesis” was a multi-media exhibition that captured Ahmed's journey from Pakistan to the US.
In 2014, “This Heirloom,” a series of analog and digital collages that connect the artist's own family history to the Partition of India, was exhibited at the Colacino Gallery, at Nazareth College in New York.[13]
It was also shown at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in 2018[14] and was part of Current Seen, Rochester's Small Venue Biennial in 2019.[15]
Activism and writing
editAhmed is involved in social justice and community work. She writes and presents on topics related to Pakistan,[16] Islamophobia,[17] micro-aggressions,[18] and the idea of decolonization.[19]
In 2021, Ahmed was featured as a changemaker in Rochester Museum and Science Center's exhibit, The Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World, which showcased stories of women visionaries and trailblazers from Rochester, New York.[20]
The Warp & Weft
editAhmed began work on the Warp & Weft,[21] a multilingual archive of stories that sought to capture the 2020 zeitgeist, in September of that year.[22] The archive was transformed into a multimedia installation including text, audio and animation in 2022 when it was exhibited at Rochester Contemporary Art Center.[23]
References
edit- ^ Neelum Films - Documentaries by Mara Ahmed
- ^ Salibian, E.C. (18 October 2018). "Mara Ahmed's unwavering lens". Rochester Beacon.
- ^ Chatterji, Shoma A. (25 May 2014). "An unusual celluloid document". The Sunday Tribune, India.
- ^ Lubitow, Adam (31 March 2015). "Film Review: A Thin Wall". Rochester City Newspaper.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, Swetha (26 June 2014). "Shadow lines". The Indian Express.
- ^ Interview on Voice of America
- ^ Interview on RCTV-15
- ^ The Edges that Blur | Mara Ahmed | TEDxRochester
- ^ The Injured Body: A Film About Racism in America - NYWiFT
- ^ November 17th, 2023 - Mara Ahmed | Heart of the East End with Gianna Volpe | WLIW-FM
- ^ A Thin Wall on Vimeo on Demand
- ^ Curtis, Erica (11 May 2005). "Who we are - Greater Rochester's Asian community is growing fast and celebrating". City Newspaper.
- ^ "Nazareth College's Colacino Gallery to showcase film-inspired collages of Mara Ahmed in a multi-media exhibit". Nazareth College Arts Center. 2 January 2014.
- ^ The Oakland Asian Cultural Center welcomes filmmaker, writer, artist and social activist MARA AHMED
- ^ This Heirloom part of Current Seen Rochester Small Venue Biennial
- ^ "Culture Under Siege in Pakistan with BBC's Fergus Nicoll". WRVO Public Media. 28 October 2011.
- ^ Howard, Georgia (25 October 2010). "Teaching Realities of Islam and American Muslims". The Clarion - Sinclair Community College.
- ^ "The Injured Body at the Medical Humanities Noon Conference". University of Rochester Medical Humanities. 8 January 2021.
- ^ Visual Studies Workshop Salon - Spring 2024 - In Dialogue with Mara Ahmed
- ^ "Illuminating Untold Stories Through Film". Rochester Museum and Science Center. October 2020.
- ^ The Warp & Weft
- ^ "The Warp and Weft" Weaves Stories Reflecting on an Unprecedented Year | Art Blooms | Reclaiming the Narrative
- ^ The Warp & Weft Face to Face at Rochester Contemporary Art Center